10 Little-Known Facts About Liverpool Forward Daniel Sturridge

Prolific Liverpool striker Daniel Sturridge has been making the headlines with his eye-catching displays for the Merseysiders ever since first arriving at Anfield from Chelsea in last year’s January transfer window.

However, there is still much that the public at large does not know about this essentially private individual, including these 10 little-known facts.

He's Got Moves Like Jagger

Jon Super

Of all the things that people most want to know about the striker, it is perhaps the origins of his now familiar goal celebration, which involves Sturridge performing an Egyptian-style dance routine in front of the adoring Reds fans.

However, as the England international explained in an interview with GQ magazine: “It came about when me and my brother and my cousins were in my apartment. We were having a bit of banter and playing some music and I ended up doing the dance.

“Then I ended up doing it in a nightclub and then we were like: ‘let's do it as a celebration,’ and then it kind of just stuck.”

Keeping It in the Family

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While most people probably know that Daniel’s uncle, Dean (pictured), played up front for a decade with Derby County, five years of which were spent in the Premier League, what they may not also realise is that the player’s father and other uncle were both professionals as well.

Uncle Simon turned out for Stoke City, while his dad Michael played in Finland, and it was his early influence, especially his fondness for showing his son videos of Pele, that really first got Daniel interested in football.

“I was happy to see my uncle play for Derby and my other uncle play for Stoke. I watched my dad play on a Betamax recording at home and he showed me old games from when he played in Finland. He scored some good goals as well.

"My dad coached me a lot in the park, we’d put out cones and dogs were always chasing us. He showed me a lot of Pele videos. He would show me the skills and I would go in the front garden trying to do them."

Off-Pitch Romance

Thibault Camus

The Liverpool attacker is reportedly now dating glamorous 23-year-old supermodel Jourdan Dunn after the pair first met at the V Festival in August 2013, before their friendship then became more serious.

And the pair made their first appearance as a couple in February at Mulberry's London Fashion Week after-party, with a source close to the duo saying in the Daily Mail: “They have grown steadily close. But they have been keeping their relationship very quiet.”

It’s a God-Given Ability

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Religion also plays a strong part in the 24-year-old’s life, with Sturridge a devout Christian, as seen by the gesture towards the sky giving thanks to God that the marksman makes whenever he finds the back of the net for the Reds.

"I just think that I've had my faith in God, been praying a lot, been working hard on the training field, and expressing myself, playing my natural game and playing my natural position also," Sturridge told CNN's World Sport earlier this month when trying to explain his recent red-hot form in front of goal.

Dressed to Impress

Off the pitch, Sturridge has a diverse range of interests to keep himself busy, but none more so than his passion for fashion and making sure he is kitted out in the best designer gear at all times.

And in particular, that means wearing all the latest trainers and watches that are in, as the frontman once again tells GQ magazine: “They're Louis Vuitton (trainers). They're a few years old, to be honest - I bought them when I was in London ages ago. I bought two pairs. Those Kanye West ones, the pink ones - you can't get them now. They're my favourite. To be fair, the Yeezys are coming out - he's got the Red Octobers out, so I'll hopefully get a pair of them. That would be nice.

“I'm wearing an AP but I like Patek Philippe's more. I have a few that I like. AP is also a great brand, Hublot as well - I have one of those. I like watches. That's probably one thing I've got into more.”

It’s All in the Mind

The in-form Liverpool forward likes to prepare for games by visualising himself scoring goals for his new team, a common technique often used these days by sportsmen and women.

“I watch the goals on my phone to get me in the mood and to give myself a vision of how I want the game to go,” Sturridge told the Daily Mirror.

“As the season has gone on, I have got more clips, but that’s good. It keeps changing. The clips now last around 15-20 minutes, which is normally what the coach ride to a stadium takes - so it is perfect. It gets me in the right mood.”

And Sturridge’s pre-match routine is obviously working, with the Englishman having netted a remarkable 34 goals in just 44 matches in all competitions since joining the Reds last January.

Coyle’s the Man Who Got Sturridge’s Career Back on Track

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The striker credits former Bolton Wanderers manager Owen Coyle with being the man responsible for turning his career around during a highly productive six-month loan spell at the Reebok during the second half of the 2010-11 campaign.

"Chelsea didn’t want me to go, but I was desperate," Sturridge recently told the Daily Telegraph. "I spoke to [chief executive] Ron Gourlay and begged. Owen Coyle changed my life. It was the first time I was in a first team, playing centre-forward. I had a chance to show the world how I could play.

"Owen’s a great man. I still treat him as my manager because he was someone who influenced my career more than most. I will always be grateful to him.”

Record Breaker

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In the 2007-08 campaign, while still a teenager with his first professional club Manchester City, Sturridge became the first player ever to score in the Premier League, FA Cup and FA Youth Cup in the same season, a record that has yet to be matched to this day.

It’s Just Like Watching Brazil

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Sturridge has already scored some memorable goals during his short time on Merseyside, although perhaps his most audacious to date came in a 4-1 win against West Bromwich Albion at Anfield in the Premier League last October.

Picking up possession of the ball towards the left-hand corner of the penalty area, Sturridge somehow managed to execute a perfect 20-yard lob over a stranded Boaz Myhill in the Baggies goal, an impudent piece of skill the player learnt off Brazilian playmaker Deco during their time together at Chelsea in 2009-10.

"It’s just important to try because I feel sometimes when I was playing the past you feel you don’t want to try something because you may get shot down for it. In my first or second England game I tried it and the keeper saved it. The game after that I tried it and it came off. I just think sometimes you have to try these things and play with no risks."

The Sweet Smell of Success

Sang Tan

Not only is Daniel capable of cooking up a storm on the field of play these days, but off the pitch he is also a bit of a dab hand in the kitchen too, so much so that the Sturridge family are even now set to open their own Caribbean restaurant, most probably in Birmingham, where he was born and his parents still live.

And it will be Sturridge’s mum, who he says influenced his own love of food, driving forward this new venture, as he tells GQ magazine: “My mum is doing some sauces, yeah. She's currently getting that in place, so that's going to be nice. Hopefully we'll have a restaurant open for as well.

“So we're probably going to open a restaurant. We'll have the sauces there also but we'll sell those separately. It's a Caribbean type of thing. I don't know where, we're not too sure - maybe Birmingham. We'll see what happens. But we're certainly going to have one in the near future.”